Some 650,000 Connecticut Light & Power Co. customers lost power in Tropical Storm Irene, with 800 crews tackling the job, some of them who came in from states as far away as Florida, Ohio and Michigan. At last report Monday morning, CL&P crews had restored power to more than 150,000 customers.
It was a record storm from CL&P”™s perspective, topping the more than 475,000 customers that lost power during Hurricane Gloria in 1985.
“In preparing for this hurricane, we were able to more than double the size of our workforce,” Jeff Butler, CL&P president and chief operating officer, said in a statement Sunday. “Now that it is safe for our crews to be out, we”™re able to mobilize all of our available resources. At the same time, we continue trying to get additional crews to expedite our efforts.”
On Sunday, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia blasted CL&P”™s response in the immediate aftermath of the storm, steaming at what he called “an inexplicable diversion of resources” in a statement posted to the city”™s website.
“We ”¦ have been told that it could be a full week before power is completely restored, based on information provided by CL&P representatives to me,” Pavia said. “As the economic engine of the state, I find the situation CL&P leaves us in completely unacceptable.”
United Illuminating Co., which provides service in the Bridgeport area, had crews on hand from Kansas City Power & Light. More than 100,000 customers lost power in the aftermath of the storm, with Fairfield among the hardest hit municipalities.
CL&P is providing several channels to report outages or to check the status of one, including its website at cl-p.com, an automated telephone line at 800-286-2000, on Twitter @CTLightandPower, at Facebook.com/CTLightandPower or by texting “outage” and one”™s zip code to 24612 (fees may apply).
Early estimates peg the costs from Irene at $7 billion, an amount expected to grow as homeowners and businesses assess damage and as swollen streams in Vermont and Massachusetts empty into the Connecticut River and other rivers. As of Monday morning, municipalities had ordered some 61,000 sandbags as a bulwark against rising water, according to the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection.
Typical homeowners”™ policies do not cover damage from floods caused by overflowing rivers, streams, tidal waters and storm surges, according to the Connecticut Insurance Department, saying flood insurance would be required in that case.
The department said homeowners and businesses should carefully document any damage to their property with photos and videos, while making any repairs immediately that are necessary for safety reasons.
“We worked with the insurance companies ahead of the storm to license an additional 1,900 adjusters on top of those we already have licensed in Connecticut, so homeowners who experienced damage ”¦ could get an insurance assessment as quickly as possible,” Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi said, in a prepared statement. “My department staff understand the situation we”™re in due to this storm, and they”™re ready to help.”
The department also said most homeowners”™ policies will cover tree removal only if it fell and damaged property such as a building or vehicle. If it falls in a yard and doesn”™t hit anything, removal costs are generally not covered by insurance, but the department advised policyholders to check their policy and consult their agent or carrier if they are uncertain whether coverage would kick in.
